Raser Technology

With a break-through technology for converting geothermal waters into electricity, an unproven method of plant construction and zero dollars of revenue, Raser Technologies faced the often-daunting challenge of innovators, proving its company was “for real.” To make Raser’s reality palpable for investors, customers and the public, Stern & Co. worked with management to keep a steady stream of news flowing about progress in plant construction, new contracts with utility buyers and a variety of corporate developments. In the challenging situation of establishing a company that is innovating on a number of fronts simultaneously—in this case, sourcing energy from near-surface geothermal deposits that are no hotter than a cup of coffee and building a plant in six months that historically has taken six years, the most satisfactory solution is getting the implicit endorsement of the media through print articles and television camera coverage, describing the company and its unusual technology in prestigious national publications and live television.

In addition to a hailstorm of coverage in the local Utah media, in both print and television, articles in Fortune Magazine and a live CNN interview at the plant with the CEO, one crowning achievement in this media campaign was the company’s plant, with photo, featured as one of the Fast Money’s Fast Fifty of the most innovative companies of 2009 alongside of Apple, Google, Amazon and Toyota in the February 2009 issue.

Raser Technologies has created a Hummer that gets 100 miles to the gallon, with Kraig Higginson, Raser Technologies chairman. Erin Burnett, CNBC Squawk on the Street, drives it down Wall Street after RaserTech’s management rang the opening bell on the NYSE.